The World - News from Sept. 12, 1989

China is engulfed in a “class struggle” over whether socialism can survive there, an official commentary declared in a harsh attack on reformers. Domestic “class enemies” allied with “international reactionary forces of the capitalist class” are seeking to overthrow communism in China, the Guang-ming Daily commentary said. The article charged that many of the reforms advocated in the last few years by former General Secretary Zhao Ziyang and his advisers are actually aimed at restoring capitalism. One Chinese intellectual predicted that the article signals preparations for escalating purges of reformist Communist Party members.